Poisonous trees near park may have to be removed

Plymouth council is consulting the public

Plymouth residents are being consulted on the future of three trees bordering the new play area on Armada Way which may have to be removed because they are poisonous.

The three laburnums are all category U condition which means they are recommended for removal due to their poor condition.

The council says that the toxic nature of the trees so near a new playground has led officers to now recommend removing the three laburnums to remove the risk of children eating the seeds of the tree, which look like peas. 

They can cause vomiting, convulsive movements, slight frothing at the mouth and diarrhoea.

The trees had been earmarked for felling under the original Armada Way scheme by the former Conservative administration but were granted a reprieve after the new Labour-led council revoked the old plan when it came into power in 2023 and pledged no more trees would be lost.

The council is planting 169 new trees as part of its new £30 million Armada Way scheme which includes a play area the size of five tennis courts, wildlife areas, new seating, lighting and cycle ways.

It is one of the largest public realm projects currently being constructed in the country.

People will be asked their views on four options: to keep the three Laburnum trees and monitor “ingestion” events; prune them; relocate them or remove them completely and plant other trees nearby in their place.

Cllr Mark Lowry, cabinet member for finance and city centre champion said: “In hindsight it was not a great idea to plant poisonous trees in a city centre.

“We are responsible for the health and safety of this regeneration project and while we acknowledge these trees have caused no recorded harm to date, far more children are expected to play here and the risk of curious kids picking up the pods and eating the seeds is one we need to think about now.”

The council said officers have a preferred option for the Laburnum trees, but this was “not an absolute given”.

“We also hope that the consultation will help people get a fuller picture of the considerations we have had to think about,” it said.

The authority says it is including some of the learning from the Armada Way review into its work and being more transparent about how it makes decisions.

An independent learning review highlighted mistakes made by the council during the process which led to the felling of more than 100 trees in March 2023 by the council. The saga cost taxpayers an extra £3.3 million due to clear up costs and court hearings which followed.

Plymouth City Council has worked 18 recommendations from the review to improve on governance, project management and consultation and engagement with the public into an action plan.